Cinque Terra base
 

We will be in the Cinque Terra area the first 4 days of June. Where should we make our "base" Portofino or Portovenere?

I was just there in September. Portofino reminded me of an outdoor mall. We stayed about 20 minutes north of there in Camogli. A tiny fishing village with absolutley nothing to do. Loved it. One of the most picturesque places we have stayed. From there you can take the ferry to Portofino (20 min) or train. You can also take the train to Cinque Terre. It is 1 hr to the furthest town. Then you hike your way back north to the nearest town, and get back on the train to Camogli. Ride home is obviously shorter.

danen,
I spent a week in Manarola CT ,this past June..From there I have taken daily trips to Portofino, Pisa and of course CT other charming villages..

We also stayed in Camogli when we were in that area as a base for the CT and loved it. One of the prettiest towns I've ever been in. A year or so ago one of the major magazines (might have been National Geo Traveler) listed it in it's list of 10 best towns in the mediterrean. It's still a real fishing village. But obviously there has been a great tourist influence in recent years too. There are plenty of hotels, restaurants, pleasure boats in the harbor, etc just not overwhelmingly so. Prices, while not cheap, were less than Portofino. The train ride down to Riomaggiore was not bad at all and only cost about 3€. I will definitly stay there the next time I'm in that area.

Why not stay in one of the 5 towns?
we stayed in Corniglia and loved it.
We stayed at the hotel de cecio very small, and spartan no phone or tv in the room. they operate a wonderful resturant below the hotel. It was very relaxing. Hiking and swimming all day long dinners at night in quiet Corniglia. If you are interested in the hotel de cecio and do not speak Italian
I recomend using att long distance translating operator to book the room.

We stayed in a converted manor house B&B atop the hilltown of Arcola and when we went to the CT we drove to nearby Lerici and took the boat across the Gulf of Spezia via Portovenere. From there we also went to Lucca and to Portofino.
Everything about it was ideal...
http://www.lapiccolaoasi.com/

I would avoid Portofino as a base. It is very expensive and does not connect well with public transportation. We stayed in Santa Margherita Ligure and loved it. It is a fairly large town with a beautiful waterfront, outdoor markets and great restaurants and cafes. It can get crowded on the summer weekends because it is a place where many Italians (particularly Milanese)go to get away. That was part of its attraction for me. From Santa Margherita it's easy to hop on the train to any of the Cinque Terre villages and get back in time for dinner. I have not been to Portovenere but it also comes highly recommended on this forum. I suggest you do searches using "Santa Margherita" or "SML" and "Portovenere."

Portofino would be far away as a "base" for the Cinque Terre. Portovenere is definitely much closer. However, as the other posters have indicated, staying in towns other than expensive, overpriced, crowded Portofino would be the best bet. I would recommend staying in CT itself -- in Riomaggiore. It is very central to going up and down the coast via train visiting the other towns, and even for a quick 15 min jaunt into La Spezia. I recommend the 'Villa Argentina' 37, Via de Gasperi, located up the main road in the hills overlooking the town.

Portovenere is not on the train line so you would have to catch a bus then a train to reach any of the CT villages (unless you have a car but parking in that area can be very hard to find). Portofino is not on the train line either, it's 20 min north of Santa Margherita Ligure by bus and too far from CT to be used as a base. I'd stay in one of the CT villages, we stayed in Manarola and loved it, or if you want more of a town - and less of a village - stay in SML which is a lovely place with a lot more shops, restaurants and things to do. CT is great but mainly for hiking.

A great website for the Cinque Terre area is
http://homepage.sunrise.ch/homepage/avong/cinque_terre/
Kay

For puposes of clarity we should all make the distinction between the " Ligurian Coast" and the Cinque Terre". They are not the same. Portofino is a 100 miles from the CT. The entire coast stretches for more than 150 miles south of Genoa--the CT is about 1/10 of that. Only Levanto and Portovenere are close enough to be called the 6th and 7th villages. It would help to know that in your planning .

Is it possible to drive into Camogli or is it only accessible by boat? When we were in that area 10 years ago, we tried to get into the village driving and were not successful. Mary

I've never understood these questions talking about the Cinque Terre (five lands or towns) and then mentioning towns which aren't part of it.

Aw, c'mon, Patrick. Maybe you're up past your bedtime and it's making you grouchy.....I-)

Sure you can drive into Camogli. But, it is more than an hour drive from the CT.

Going to CT for just one day,from Lucca,on the train,any ideas on the best itinerary,what to take..a backpack I suppose.. How many of the towns would we see,and if not all which ones should we go for? Is this a leave at the crack of dawn and return late at night trip?

I can't believe no one's mentioned Levanto, the '6th' CQ town. We stayed there two nights, and thought it was a great base to explore the CQ area. Levanto is a small, riviera resort town that's a 3 hour hike or 5 minute train ride to Monterosso. It has a nice beach, lots of restaurants and hotels, a small casino, and very few American tourists. If you are into hiking, the trek from Levanto to Monterosso is less travelled than the CQ trails, and is just as scenic.

I will be visiting the area in late June. We have chosen Rapallo as our base...you might want to consider that.

Jim_Tardio. If you are interested, take the cablecar from Rapallo up to the Sanctuario di Montallegro. Great views of the Golfo del Tigullio and the Promontorio di Portofino. There is also a well-marked trail, downhill, to Chiavari (about 3 hrs). Bring a picnic. JQ

"Portofino is a 100 miles from the CT." Actually, according to Via Michelin it is 47 miles from Portofino to Monterosso and 57 miles from Portofino to Riomaggiore. The estimated driving time is less than an hour and a half. According to Trenitalia, the train ride from Santa Margherita to Monterosso is 45 minutes and to Riomaggiore is about one hour.

I agree with Zootsi -- Levanto makes a great, easy base for this area of the coast. As a matter of fact, Zootsi, it was reading your posts awhile back that helped me make the decision to stay in Levanto! Thanks! (my "belated" trip report was recently posted).

We stayed in the Europa, right in town. I'd stay there again. Rooms were smallish and a little dark, but clean, well-furnished and comfortable and ours had a large bath. Many good restaurants; I have names if anyone wants them.